Our weekly program Making Democracy Work is a collaboration between KSMU Radio and the League of Women Voters of Southwest Missouri. It's hosted and produced by LWV volunteers, and it airs each Monday morning at 9:45 on KSMU.
In this episode of our local program Making Democracy Work, host Lisa Langley speaks with Denise Lieberman, director and general counsel of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition.
Langley: With Election Day coming up on Tuesday, November 3rd, many Missourians have questions about what to bring to the polls, what to do if something goes wrong and how to make sure their vote counts. The Missouri Voter Protection Coalition is a nonpartisan coalition of civic, faith, legal and community organizations, including the League of Women Voters, that work year-round to help Missouri voters cast their ballots. Denise helped develop the national nonpartisan 866 Election Protection Hotline program, which she still runs in Missouri, and has worked on ensuring assistance for voters with disabilities and translation needs. Denise, it's a pleasure to have you this morning.
Lieberman: Thank you so much for having me.
Langley: So, for listeners who may not be familiar with your work, what is the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, and what does a typical Election Day look like for your team?
Lieberman: The Missouri Voter Protection Coalition works to ensure that voting is free, fair and accessible to all Missourians to ensure that everybody is able to make their voices heard. We believe that your, your age, your race, your zip code or your bank account shouldn't determine whether you get to have a say or a voice in your own future. And we do this by anchoring, policy advocacy, litigation, voter education and by running Missouri's nonpartisan election protection program during the elections. So, our election day is very busy, with hundreds of monitors out at polling places all across the state and attorneys answering calls into the nonpartisan 866-OUR-VOTE Election Protection hotline. This allows us to identify assist voters in real time and respond immediately to any problems at the polls.
Langley: So, your coalition runs the election protection hotline here in Missouri. If a voter runs into a problem at their polling place, how do they reach you and what happens when they call?
Lieberman: Voters can call or text 866-OUR-VOTE, that's 866-687-8683, and speak to a trained attorney or legal professional who can answer questions about the voting rules. What kind of ID do they need to bring? Can double check their voter registration? Or where their polling place is located or, more concerning, a barrier that they may be facing at the polls. Maybe the entrance has a step and isn't accessible. Maybe the person needs assistance in voting. Maybe there's intimidation or misinformation or aggressive electioneering happening at the polling place. When they talk to our representatives at the hotline, we get that information in real time in our Election Protection Command Center and can do follow up advocacy with the voter right then and there to walk them through the voting process and do immediate advocacy with local election officials to get the issue stopped. Oftentimes, we get information about issues at polling places before the local election authority does. We're able to get that information to the election official so that they're able to get a tech over there right away, because we know that problems that may start out small very, very quickly grow into large problems when there are long lines at the polls. And we've been doing this for 20 years here in Missouri, and we've gotten really good at doing it.
Langley: You train volunteers to serve as poll monitors across the state. What are they specifically watching for, and what are the most common problems voters encounter on Election Day?
Lieberman: We rely on hundreds of volunteers across the state of Missouri who can sign up at protectthevote.net. There they will get information about the program. You can get trained. The trainings are live, but they're also available on demand so volunteers can watch them at their own schedule and then they'll get directed to sign up for a shift. All we ask for is three hours of time, either during the early voting period or on Election Day. Available shifts at polling places near the zip code where you signed up will appear, and you can select any date, any time and any location that you want to monitor. Sometimes organizations like churches or civic organizations will adopt a poll together, and so all of their members sign up for all the shifts and work together to help their community at that polling place. At the polling place are election protection monitors or stewards of democracy, if you will. They provide information to voters. We have palm cards with the top 10 things that voters should know when they're going to the polls or how to troubleshoot issues. What if your name doesn't show up on the voter rolls? What should you do? And they're there to provide immediate assistance navigating any problems that the voter may face inside. Our monitors are there solely to ensure that every voter has the tools they need.
Langley: What's your best advice for voters to make sure their vote is cast, and how can listeners get involved?
Lieberman: Our best advice is to make a plan to vote. Know your rights ahead of time. Check out information on websites like Missouri Voter Protection Coalition's. Get your voter guide that the League of Women Voters (offers) and call 866-OUR-VOTE with any questions. There's really no question too small.